Disclaimer: Any similarities to actual cases, persons, or events are purely coincidental. Medical terms will be used and descriptions may or may not be detailed. I'll try my best not to make you puke. Do not trust all the medical terms I'll be using. I'm neither a doctor nor a medical student. Everything related to medicine or scientific subjects are the results of a ton of research. I do not own Naruto and the characters. I do not own or am plagiarizing NBC's 'The Night Shift'.
Medical terms marked with an * are explained at the end of the chapter.
"Hey, Aika, look-" Naruto groaned inwardly at having to break the news to Shisui's wife. When Sasuke pushed the job of breaking this poor lady's heart, he knew it wouldn't be pretty. All around him, he could hear the nurses on the phones, speaking to every heart donor list they could find. After the news, Sakura had pleaded them to find a heart as soon as they could with Sasuke by her side. The equation was set.
Sakura's authority + Sasuke's influence = Triple Knockout
"I don't understand, Naruto. You said that you could fix his heart!" She argued frantically, her eyes watering instantly.
Naruto placed his arms on her shoulders to comfort her. "I know. I know I said that. But I didn't know it was that bad." He bit his lip anxiously as she choked out a sob. "But he looked better!" Naruto nodded assuringly. "He's stable for now. However…he'll need a new heart."
At that, her face fell. She knew what that meant. She knew exactly what that meant. "There was too much damage to the-the transplant –Hey, let's talk in here." Noting that she was about to explode, he directed her into a private room, where they could talk alone.
"Not again, Naruto. I've suffered and endured the last time but I don't know how I can do it again! How can he endure this again?! He's a good man, Naruto. Why does this have to happen to him? Out of all the billion people in the world, it has to be him! He goes to church; he helps everybody! He's dedicated to his work and family…his family, oh, Naruto, what am I going to do without him? What's Mitsuko going to do without him? She needs her father, Naruto!" She covered her grief-stricken face with her hands as she wailed for her husband.
Naruto stared at the weeping woman with sorrow. Family. Kids. It made him think about Hinata and their twins she was carrying. What would they do without him? It was something he didn't even want to think about.
"Please, Naruto, you, Sasuke, and Tsunade are the only ones who understand. Please save him. Please." She clutched on to his scrubs and wept on his shirt. He frowned, calmly patting her back to sooth her cries.
"I'll see what I can do, Aika." He declared.
They needed a heart. Pronto.
"Nara-san." Shikamaru spun around slowly, hearing his name being called by a familiar voice. He studied the blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman dressed in a purple blouse and black pencil skirt. She smiled at him politely and bowed her head a little as a form of respect. Shikamaru was impressed that for once, someone in this place had respect for their higher-ups.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino, this hospital's attending psychiatrist." She held a hand out for a handshake but was surprised when she didn't get one. She opened her eyes and blinked at the shocked man.
"Is there something wrong?" She titled her head to the side in concern.
"Y-Yamanaka Ino?" He looked bewildered as he took a step forward cautiously.
She nodded slowly in confusion. Yes, that was her name. Don't wear it out. "Yes?"
He chuckled a little, slouching while stuffing his hands in his pockets. Ino swore that for a moment there she knew him from somewhere. "Nara Shikamaru from Konoha Academy." He quirked an expectant brow at her. She should remember him. After all, their parents were good friends.
Nara…Shikamaru? Konoha Academy? OH MY GOD! "SHIKAMARU?!" She exploded in recognition, fire lighting in her eyes angrily. Shikamaru smirked, glad that she had remembered him after all. "THE LAZY ASS?!"
…Okay, that was uncalled for.
He grumbled in protest to that name. "Seriously, Ino? God, you're still as loud as ever, troublesome woman." He twisted his pinky in his ear from emphasis. She seethed on the spot. "And you're still as lazy as ever, you pineapple head! I can't believe you're my boss. Like, what did a lazy ass like you do to be such a big shot, huh?" His eye twitched at the insulting name.
"Hard work and my 200 over IQ." He answered simply enough.
Ino huffed and glared at the uncaring male. "Hard work is not a part of your vocabulary." She pointed at him accusingly. "When I heard that a Nara was my boss, I did not expect it to be you of all people!"
"I'd never thought I'd have a noisy Yamanaka on board."
"Gah, you never changed at all! Other than your height and your clothes, you're still the same lazy ass who complains and whines about every single thing!"
His eyes locked onto her hair. "I'd say the same goes for you, blonde bimbo."
Snap!
Shikamaru felt the air shift and he froze, the shivers traveling up his spine. It felt the same way when he called Chouji, the MRI tech, a fatso. That was a company dinner he never wanted to relive. And now, he might have just ensured his death.
Ino cracked her knuckles with deathly, red eyes that spelled danger. "What. Did. You. Call. Me." Shikamaru gulped and his gears started turning in his brain to think of an escape plan. His eyes avoided hers as he looked around for a way out when they came across the folder she held in her hands.
Bingo! "Ino, don't you have something for me?" He gestured to her folder and the furious woman calmed down for a moment to realize that she did have something to ask the lackadaisical admin.
"Oh, right, I need you to help me push through a background check," She handed him the folder to peruse through. "On a mother of an eleven-year-old boy, who shows symptoms of a multiple personality disorder." She explained, watching the male's beady eyes study the report on the mother and the son.
He closed the folder and handed it back to her, gesturing for her to walk with him to the front. "Abuse?"
"Maybe."
"What form?"
"I don't know. It could be emotional, sexual, physical, mental, but definitely traumatizing. This is why I need the background check so badly. I need to see if there's something I can maybe pin on the mother that will lead us to the cause of his behavior." Ino answered, peeking at Shikamaru carefully. "You'll do it, right? For an old friend?" She smiled a little, trying to be hopeful.
After things between her and Shikamaru…were complicated.
Shikamaru paused for a moment, nodding at her words. "I'll do it for the hospital and for your job. We're old classmates. We were never friends." Ino's eyes widened at his words with hurt. As she halted in her steps, flashbacks of that fateful day where her young fourteen-year-old heart was broken.
"You want the background check or not?" His annoyed voice brought her back to earth as she quickened her steps to catch up to his retreating back.
Staring at his back, she concluded in her mind that maybe it was all just a delusion. That her years in Konoha Academy were all lies created by her to keep her heart afloat and glued together.
Nara Shikamaru. Was he just another lie she created to help herself?
Studying his changed appearance, it was obvious he wasn't the Nara Shikamaru from her childhood. Maybe he really was a lie that she created from her heart and mind to protect herself.
Maybe Nara Shikamaru wasn't the boy, who diverted her heart away from rejection. Maybe he wasn't the boy, who sat next to her during lunch and listened to all her rambles. Maybe he wasn't the boy, who helped her with her studies despite her being branded as a hopeless student. Maybe he wasn't the boy, who inspired her to be a psychiatrist. Maybe he wasn't the boy, who promised to protect her no matter what.
Maybe he wasn't the boy, who stole her heart and made her think she had a chance.
Maybe Nara Shikamaru was actually the boy, who broke her heart with unreciprocated feelings and left her in the dust the next day.
Honestly, Ino couldn't figure it out anymore. She'd lost hope trying to keep friends. They'd leave her anyway. After Shikamaru, Ino was a free bird, wandering here and there through different social groups. But truthfully, in her heart, she only new one group she would fit into. And that was with Shikamaru.
But she convinced herself that she was over him a long time ago. She was not a mere child anymore. Anything of the past was something for her to look back on and laugh at her silliness. To anyone else, if Ino had told them about her story, they'd all tell her to forgive and forget. After all, what would a fourteen-year-old know about love?
But because they weren't her. Because they weren't there to know what she truly felt at that time. They would never understand.
For Ino, as she gazed at the back of Shikamaru, seeing a ghost of his fourteen-year-old self next to him, she realized that no matter what, no matter who she was enamored with in the future, no matter who was her future husband or her future love, she would never forget.
For Ino, it was tough to forget. She was sure that there would be no one else in the world, who would be able to make her feel that way again other than Shikamaru. Regardless of whom else she would love in the future, though they may make her feel similar emotions, she would never forget Shikamaru.
After all, a girl could never forget her first love. Her first love that rejected her and left her heart in the dust.
"Get me your supervisor then." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the blonde in front of him even though he wasn't exactly mad at her. Pulling the phone away from his ear for a moment, he questioned the female. "Who called child services?" Ino shrugged. "The situation called for it. Everyone knew what they were doing." Shikamaru seemed satisfied with that answer and returned to the phone.
"You are the supervisor, am I right? Then, you should understand what's going on. You do? Good." He shot Ino a look that told her he had everything under control. "Now, if you don't get me that background check on the mother pronto, I will personally phone every single one of your bosses right now and tell them you can't do your job. How can I do that? I'm a Nara. My family controls half the land in Konoha." Ino rolled her eyes at that. Yes, Nara, take a good moment to flaunt your wealth. Even though she knew Shikamaru wasn't the egotistical type, sometimes he had to "dangle" his power in people's faces to get important things done.
"Goood. Great. Thanks." He hung up with a content smirk. Ino raised an expectant brow and had to smile at him brightly when he nodded once in affirmation. "You'll get the background check." He reassured.
Ino then pouted all of a sudden. "And child services." She whined a little. Shikamaru had the cheek to crack a smile at her action. For some reason, he had been a little put off by Ino's work demeanor. For one, he never knew that the Yamanaka could be serious. If he recalled, the girl was always flamboyant and easy-going.
To be honest, he didn't know if he could adjust to the new Ino. Seeing her again after many years was a shock enough. He never pictured the hospital to be Ino's scene. He had always imagined her in a fluffier location with flashing lights and dancing girls. Honestly, he didn't expect her to be intrigued by the mind.
"So, how's life?" It was a casual question enough yet it sent Shikamaru feeling flustered. Yes, how was life for him? Not so very good at the moment.
Ino caught the look of anxiety and guardedness at her conversation opener. As a psychiatrist, it was her job to catch the small flickers of emotion in her patient's eyes or face. She felt the river of concern pour over her form and she wondered what had happened to her old classmate. For one small question about his life to fluster him so much…what could have happened to the usually cool and calm lazy ass she knew in her past?
"Ino!" The two snapped their attention towards the incoming pinkette doctor who held a worried expression on her face.
For once, Shikamaru could have never been gladder for the doctor's untimely entrances.
He waved goodbye to Ino, who opened her mouth to say something, but was caught by Sakura first. Ino stared at the slouched posture of the Nara in worry and set a reminder in her brain to ask him about it later. She turned to the pink-haired doctor and wondered what got her so anxious.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" She asked concernedly. Sakura avoided her eyes, pursing her lips together firmly. "Ino, I need you to talk to Sasuke-kun." She sighed out.
Sasuke? "Doctor Uchiha? Is there something wrong with him?" She raised a brow at the doctor when a melancholy look flashed past her eyes. "Shisui's heart…he needs a new heart."
Ino's eyes widened at the revelation. "Oh…no, that's horrible. He won't get one in time." Sakura nodded sadly. "That's why I need you to talk to Sasuke-kun. He…He's not taking it very well."
Sakura understood that she agreed to catch him when he fell. But she was having second thoughts. This was personal and definitely heart-wrenching for Sasuke. For her to talk with him in such a fragile state scared her. She wasn't sure if he'd listen.
"Sakura, you need to talk to him."
Green eyes widened as she quickly refused. "But I-"
"Honestly, Sakura, you are the only one he'll listen to. Years of psychiatry can never compare to having an anchor, Sakura. You are his anchor. You've seen him spiral. I've never seen that happen. Besides," Ino smiled encouragingly down at the girl. "I'm just a colleague. You're a friend, a really good friend of his. Don't you think that with Sasuke's personality he would listen better to someone who knew his heart better than he knew his?"
Sakura was silent in thought. Ino giggled a little, patting the girl on the shoulder. "I have to go check on Isamu. Go talk him. You can do it." The blonde winked at the uncertain girl before walking off in success.
Operation: SasuSaku is in progress!
The beaming face of Shisui stared back at him mockingly on the luminescent screen of his phone. Times back then were, for a lack of a word, dandy. Despite the tumultuous twists and turns of the war, the twenty men in his squadron were strong with the chains of camaraderie. He knew every single one of them from their basic information to their idiosyncrasies. For such a callous male like Sasuke, he treasured his relations and his bonds.
Because it was bonds that kicked his arse back on track when he took a detour.
"May I?" Black met green, sparkling eyes that smiled upon him with tenderness. She didn't even give him a chance to reply as she set herself next to his hunched figure on the cold bench. The answer was in his eyes. Transparent, Sasuke was not. For the couple, it was an understanding between them that not even their long-time friendship with Naruto could rival. It was an understanding that came from love. For the two, it was an after-effect of their years together. What they shared could never be reanimated.
"How's the boy?" He asked first. If not him, then Sakura would jump on the open chance. He was not ready to talk about that just yet. After all, they both knew what the conversation would lead to. Testing the waters? Not so much. Small talk? Close enough.
The ends of her lips hitched upwards slightly in a blithe smile. She found his attempt to steer the conversation away from him futile and utterly Sasuke. He was a pain-in-the-ass when it came to deep talks. Especially the one she was about to have with him right at this very moment. "Isamu's sleeping right now. Doctor Hyuuga must have mentioned something about him to you for you to ask about him."
"Hn, his case is peculiar."
"Indeed. However, it is Ino's case and I shall let her deal with it on her own. Psychological diagnosis is not my forte." She chuckled, leaning back a little relaxedly into the cool mahogany of the bench.
"Same." He replied simply, guard dropping when the conversation had yet to take that dreaded turn into his land.
"But I am good at listening to people's problems."
And it just swerved right into it.
Groaning, he inclined backwards into the wood of the bench with a tormented sigh. "Why are you always so concerned about me?"
Sakura shifted closer, worry dancing in the eyes that were fixated on his disgruntled features. "Because I care about you." It was a simple answer, really. One that shouldn't have set off fireworks in his heart. Honestly, it shouldn't. They weren't even together anymore. It shouldn't matter.
But it did and Sasuke cursed his traitor of a heart. Why did he have to be the one who never moved on after all these years? Why did Sakura have to be the one who did and left him in the dust? Why did it have to be so damn upside-down? Weren't girls the sensitive ones? Why him? Why their relationship? Why not her?
"We're not in a relationship anymore."
"But that shouldn't matter."
A sardonic scoff left Sasuke's chapped lips. "But it should."
Viridian eyes narrowed perplexedly. "Do I have to be involved with in an intimate way to care for you?"
Yes, because then, his heart won't ache and yearn for her any longer.
"Hn."
"Again with your one-word answers! Honestly, Sasuke-kun," He flinched at the suffixed name. Suddenly, it felt burdensome to hear it. It reminded him of the past too much. And the past, as sweet and as beautiful as it was, was supposed to be locked in a cage somewhere in the depths of his dark and traumatic mind. "Why can't I care for you like a friend does?"
When he stayed silent, she knew she had won. She had no idea why the man was so adamant on denying her care. She only wanted to help. Is that such a bad thing? After all, if one forwent their previous attachment to each other, she was his friend. She was the bubbly pinkette who gave him the dandelion years ago when life didn't matter and innocence was a virtue.
On the other hand, Sasuke had no idea why the woman was so adamant on caring for him. In his mind and in regular social customs, shouldn't associating with your exes be a big no-no? Complications and mixed emotions would be the result of that. And Sasuke was definitely feeling the latter. Friends. She says it like her name. Friends. Too easy. Too easy. No matter how Sasuke looked at it, he believed that they were both digging their graves by even working in the same place. After all, she used to be his light. And now that she was just a dim lamp in his life, it was the same as living in darkness.
"Anyway, I want you to tell me what's on your mind."
"But I don't want to."
"You need to tell me what's on your mind then."
"Hn, I'm thinking that you're as annoying as heck and you shouldn't be concerned with me."
"That's not going to work."
"But it is what's on my mind."
…
"Sasuke, I'm not here to play games with you."
Smirk. "Who said I was playing games with you?"
Twitch. Twitch. "Fine, then, I'll be more specific. Tell me about what you feel for Shisui. What happened to him?"
Flinch. She got him there. A sigh of defeat escaped from his lips. "Regret. Grief. Pain. My friend needs a new heart and he can't get one. He's going to die and I can't do a fucking thing about it."
Green orbs softened into mellow pools of sea foam. "Sasuke-kun, hearts don't come on silver platters." A despondent scoff left his cold lips. Where was a cup of tea when he needed one? "You think I don't know that." He sneered sarcastically.
"No, I know. I know you do." She continued sagely. "But it's not just about Shisui, right?" From Sasuke's sudden stiff posture, she mused that she had hit the bull's eye on that one. Shifting closer, she leaned her head carefully on his tense shoulder, sighing reminiscently at the familiar feeling.
"You are brave, Sasuke-kun. For you to make such a decision in the midst of pandemonium, you are brave. Nevertheless, you made that choice because you believed that your brother's legacy will live on in Shisui. But now that tragedy has struck once again, you're afraid that his legacy will be lost." She always read me right. Mused Sasuke being reminded of the many times she's shot a ten out of ten with his emotions.
"…Whenever I look at Shisui, I see my nii-san instead. It's selfish of me-" "It's not selfish of you, Sasuke-kun. It's human of you." She countered deftly.
Human of him? Human? Humanity was lost once he saw what he saw on the battlefield. His humanity was lost out in war. "It's not human, Sakura. I lost that on the battlefield." He reminded softly with sinking eyes.
"I don't believe so." She disagreed and he turned to her and her irises staring deeply into his charcoal ones. "You say you've lost your humanity on the battlefield but I see it differently. I say that the battlefield gave you more humanity. Why else would you be a doctor, saving lives in this hospital at such a late hour when everyone else is retired in bed?" Her smile brought life to his dark, cold orbs. Heart beat faster and gut sank deeper. Sasuke had given up on depressing his feelings. The more he did so anyway resulted in stronger affections for her.
He scoffed casually once again. Sakura and her optimistic ideas, he thought. "It's an obligation, Sakura." He replied.
"Obligation? I think not. You work harder than anyone else in this building to save one life. If it was an obligation, you'd be going through the motion like the rest of the world." She argued reasonably. "You overwork yourself because you understand the importance of life and humanity. You've seen so many lives taken away on the battlefield that you aim to save each and every life with all your heart."
"Hn." He grunted disconcertingly.
She leaned in closer, her breath fanning the cool skin on his neck. Honestly, if Sasuke wasn't used to Sakura's affections, he would have pushed her off immediately. He wasn't going to admit the fact that he missed her and this. He wasn't at all.
"And even if you believe that you aren't human, you have us. Your friends. Neji. Tenten. Konan. Suigetsu. Kankuro. Ino. Naruto. And me, Sasuke-kun. Me." She carried on and Sasuke grumbled, shoving his phone back into his pocket. She lifted her head and shook his arm insistently. "Sasuke-kun, I-"
"Look, you want to know so badly about Shisui? I'll tell you what you want to know." He sneered at her, irritation lighting in his eyes. "He got shot during one of our skirmishes with the enemy just before Itachi was killed. We were getting back at Shisui's shooters and that's when Itachi died. On our way back to base, I spent the entire ride, pumping the chest of my already dead brother to keep the heart alive for the transplant. I made that decision quick and fast like you said in that kind of situation. There was no time for tears or grief. I lost my humanity on that day. Weeks later, I left the army because I couldn't cope with my brother's death. The fucking end. Happy?" He stood, his back turned to Sakura.
…
"Yes, Sasuke-kun. I'm happy. Thank you for telling me about it." Her words were polite but her voice was hard and strained as if she felt wronged. Sasuke groaned inwardly. What the hell was he thinking snapping at her like that? Knowing Sakura, she was going to be hurt as hell. "If you wanted to know what I would have said, I would have said that your brother's legacy doesn't die in Shisui. He lives on in you, Sasuke." He flinched at the omitted suffix, reminding how much he fucked up. "You don't have to be so pessimistic about life and humanity. We're here for you, Sasuke. I'm here for you. Why can't you understand that? Why won't you let me be your friend, Sasuke?"
He answered her in a flash. The answer to that was easy. "Because you're my first love, Sakura, and you know what that means." At her widening eyes, he left her alone to mull over his words. If he wasn't obvious enough with his words, he would question her intelligence, really.
"First love?" Sakura repeated to herself in confusion. Did that meant-
The doors of the hospital flung open and two paramedics pushing in a bloodied groom hurried in. "Multiple casualty MVA. Truck ran a red light and slammed into a wedding limo." One of them informed. Konan stood at the front, directing each gurney to a trauma room. Another gurney wheeled in carrying the maid of honor and then another carrying the bride.
"Alright, Neji, take the groom. Sasuke, take the maid of honor. I'll take the bride." Sakura ordered.
"Trauma three, groom. Trauma four, bride. Trauma five, maid of honor." Konan repeated, pushing a nurse towards one of the rooms. "I need you here. Go."
Sasuke rushed into trauma room five, where the maid of honor lay unconscious with a mask strapped to her and blood on her baby blue dress. Placing his stethoscope on her chest, he began assessing her condition. "I need two 14-gauge antecubital lines* and a chest tube* right away. Status on the bride, Sakura?"
"FAST* is positive." She quipped, dragging the transducer over the bride's lungs. Any animosity or awkwardness before had disappeared in front of work. "Seems like a grade three splenic laceration*. She needs the OR. Neji?" She called for a status update on the groom.
"He's got multiple palpable fractures*." Neji replied, flicking a syringe given to him by a nurse. "No flail. Doing an intercostal nerve block* now." He bent down to inject the steroid into the groom's forearm.
Nothing more was said then. Their focus: Saving three lives.
Ino strutted down the busy hallway, her heels clicking against the tiled flooring. Her mind was on the Isamu case when Shikamaru joined her by her side. "I called the state police to try and gain more information about the boy's mother." He casually informed and Ino halted in her steps in surprise.
"Really? Thanks so much. I hate that part of the job." She groaned playfully, taking pleasure in the small smirk on his face. "Let me know if you find out anything." She shuffled on but was stopped once again with a hand on her arm.
She turned back to Shikamaru with an expectant brow. What did he find out now? "And while I have you, may I ask for your professional expertise on Doctor Uchiha?" He cleared his throat awkwardly. Ino paused for a moment, studying his anticipated form with amusement. Shaking her head with a small chuckle rolling off her lips, she pulled her arm back and walked on.
"He's a great doctor." She answered. Even though she knew what he was asking, she wasn't going to humor him easily now. He caught her arm again, slightly more embarrassed now. "I know that. What about his state of mind? Any signs of PTSD*?"
Ino shook her head wryly this time around and stepped to face the administrator, not saying anything about the hand on her arm. "Anyone who has been to war has PTSD. Naruto, Neji." She shrugged.
"I know that too." He sighed, slowly irritated by her fleeting answers. "I'm asking about Doctor Uchiha specifically." He emphasized hotly.
Ino blinked at him for a few moments before smiling at him dryly. "You really hate him, don't you, Nara-san? What is up with the both of you?"
He looked confused for a moment before shoving his hands into his pockets absentmindedly. "No, what are you talking about?" Ino set him an exasperated look. "I'm talking about how the both of you seem to want to behead each other the moment you two are in a room together. What is up with the animosity, Nara-san?"
Shikamaru paused for a moment, taking his turn to study Ino. The bubbly and rambunctious girl had changed and blossomed into a perceptive and meddling young woman. He couldn't blame her since it was a part of her job. But he just guessed that her job had started to transcend into her social life as well. If this was what it felt like having conversations with Ino –exposed and obliged to tell the truth all the time- then he feared for his life.
"I see what you're doing." He started out knowingly with an arrogant smirk.
"What am I doing?" Ino furrowed her brows at Shikamaru confusedly.
"You're doing that thing. You're turning around my question to get information. When have you become so sneaky, Yamanaka Ino?" he chuckled humorlessly.
The glint in her eyes changed and she shrugged coldly. "Think what you want, Nara, but I was actually just genuinely curious. I was just being a friend, you know? But," She sighed disappointedly. "You don't see me as your friend so I guess that doesn't count." The timbre of her voice was biting and Shikamaru cringed at how hurt she sounded.
"Come to my office if you want to talk." She offered with a dull look on her features. It was a sincere offer but her face didn't look all that happy. As she walked away, leaving Shikamaru to ponder her words and their conversation, she called out, "And for your information, I wasn't being sneaky. I was just concerned."
Shikamaru watched her retreating back with a groan. He fucked up. He so knew that.
A/N:
Sorry! This was so late and I know it! School's starting so my last weeks of July have been hectic and whatnot with school preparations. I'll try to update more often but I'm heading into freshmen year so I'll see what can happen. I'm also planning out a new story that I may or may not start soon. Ugh, so much stuff!
Medical terms explained:
*14-gauge antecubital lines – a peripheral IV that is put into the inner or front of the forearm
*chest tube – a flexible plastic tube that is inserted through the chest wall and into the pleural space or mediastinum; used to remove air, fluid, or pus from the intrathoracic space (Credit: Wikipedia)
*FAST – stand for "Focus assessment with sonography for trauma"; a rapid bedside ultrasound examination performed by surgeons, emergency physicians and certain paramedics as a screening test for blood around the heart or abdominal organs after trauma (Credit: Wikipedia)
*grade three splenic laceration – indicates that the subcapsular haematoma (a type of splenic haematoma) 50% of surface area or expanding; intraparenchymal haematoma 5 cm or expanding; laceration 3 cm in depth or involving trabecular vessels; and a ruptured subcapsular or parenchymal haematoma (Credit: Radiopedia)
*palpable fractures – fractures able to be felt
*intercostal nerve block – an injection of a steroid or other medication around the intercostal nerves that are located under each rib; reduces inflammation and/or swelling of tissue around the intercostal nerves, in between the ribs or in the chest wall (Credit: Medcentral)
*PTSD – stands for "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder"; develops when a person is exposed to one than more traumatic event like sexual assault, warfare, serious injury, or threats of imminent death that result in feelings of intense fear, horror, and powerlessness (Credit: Wikipedia)
R&R. Te amo! :D